In Turin, a Confrontation Between Masters: The Exhibition of Beato Angelico and Bartholomeus Spranger

The Musei Reali in Turin has unveiled a specialized study exhibition titled "Beato Angelico negli occhi di Bartholomeus Spranger," which brings together two versions of the Last Judgment. The show features the return of Beato Angelico’s "Madonna of Humility" to Turin, accompanied by his "Last Judgment" on loan from the Museo di San Marco in Florence. This masterpiece is displayed alongside a later interpretation of the same subject by the Flemish Mannerist Bartholomeus Spranger, painted over a century later.

This exhibition matters because it traces a direct iconographic lineage between the Early Renaissance and the Counter-Reformation. By comparing Angelico’s spiritual, tripartite composition with Spranger’s copper-plate version commissioned by Pope Pius V, the show illustrates how theological traditions were preserved and adapted across generations. The inclusion of scientific analysis and iconographic tables allows visitors to understand the technical evolution and the political subtext of Spranger’s work, which includes contemporary figures like Saint Charles Borromeo.